Trump wants to put ‘soldier’s soldier’ in charge of Pentagon

President-elect Donald Trump’s selection of 66-year-old retired Marine Gen. James Mattis as secretary of defense is unorthodox, but experts say it is also timely. Mattis would be the first career officer to lead the Pentagon since just after World War II. U.S. law states a secretary of defense must have been out of active duty for at least seven years—a law set up to ensure civilian control over the military.

Mattis retired in 2013. For his appointment to proceed, Congress would have to pass a waiver, and the only other time that happened was the appointment of Gen. George Marshall in 1950 by President Harry Truman as the United States stepped into the Korean War.

It is time for another exception, said Angelo Codevilla, a national security expert and professor emeritus at Boston University.

“Lately the Pentagon, the American military in general, has been led by people with scarce acquaintance with the realities of war,” Codevilla said. “This man has lived that all his life.”

Mattis was born in Pullman, Wash. He enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1969. After completing a history degree from Central Washington University, he was commissioned as an officer in 1972. In 1991, as a lieutenant colonel, he led an assault battalion into Kuwait. After 9/11, Mattis commanded the first group of Marines to establish a U.S. foothold in Afghanistan. In 2003, he helped lead the invasion into Iraq as a two-star commander of the 1st Marine Division. From 2010 to 2013, he served as commander of the U.S. Central Command, in charge of both the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Mattis, whose nickname is “Mad Dog,” advised Trump during the presidential race, famously influencing the candidate’s views on torture and waterboarding.

“He said, ‘I’ve always found, give me a pack of cigarettes and a couple of beers and I do better with that than I do with torture,’” Trump told The New York Times, recalling a conversation he had with Mattis.

“Mattis is a soldier’s soldier … he’s spent his life leading men and understands what it takes to put together a winning team,” Codevilla said, calling him “the closest thing we’ve got to a Gen. [Douglas] MacArthur.” Codevilla said though Mattis did not come up through bureaucratic or academic preparation, he is exceptionally well-read. The former general is known not only for devouring books, but also for passing out reading lists to those under his command. “You stay teachable most by reading books, by reading what other people went through,” Mattis said in a video of leadership lessons posted by the Marine Corps.

J.V. Venable, senior research fellow for defense policy at the Heritage Foundation, agreed the time is right for Mattis to take the reins, saying the appointment would be an “easy sell” to Congress. He noted the only other waiver for secretary of defense came at a time when, somewhat like now, the United States had scaled down its military and needed someone to come back and rebuild it.

Critics of the appointment said Mattis has little experience in the diplomatic aspects of the job. He was also criticized in 2005 for remarks he made seeming to make light of killing in war.

Despite some criticism, praise for Trump’s pick is coming from both sides of the aisle.

“I think he’s a very good choice,” Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said in a CNN interview. “He would bring, I think, a great experience with him, a great reputation with him, a great mind with him, and some comfort for members of Congress on both sides of the aisle that the president will be getting good, thoughtful, sound advice.” Schiff said because of Mattis’ strong reputation, the waiver would be an “issue,” but not a “bar” to his appointment.

Many wonder how a Mattis-led Pentagon would handle the “social engineering” policies adopted during the Obama years, including putting women in combat, drafting women, and welcoming openly transgender soldiers in the military.

“I would hope that he will take a look at those positions,” Venable said. But noting the “hollow force” Mattis would inherit, Venable added, “I know that won’t be on the forefront of his agenda.”

When he has time to look to those policies, Venable sees Mattis coming in and evaluating the entire program: “Maybe for the first time, we’ll put requirements and the job of the military ahead of social progressive issues.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.